FROM ABOVE: URBAN LANDSCAPES

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The photographs I took from Toronto hotel rooms and office buildings were the ‘launching pad’ for these images. I am attracted to colour relationships, and paint what I find beautiful – typically images with strong graphic components. Because I now live in the country, the city’s energy feels more amplified on my returning visits. I am impacted by its busy and stark nature, and being ‘removed’ gives me a new appreciation of the urban landscape. I appreciate the micro/macro contrast, and the birds eye view of grids, roads, trees and sidewalks. Cars, trucks and streetcars, along with pedestrians, become moving shapes that dot the visual canvas with fervent markings.

Mixed media allowed me to capture the urban noise that I aimed to articulate, and I employed oil, acrylic, charcoal, chalk, gold leaf, and ink. My aim was not to reproduce exactly what was before me, but to reflect back the energy, movement and shapes I saw from above, and celebrate the juxtaposition of man-made materials and objects with nature. I spent time defining the composition, then worked somewhat quickly – at first with manic strokes that felt sympathetic to the subject. After the composition was set, I worked as a whole to define areas – burying and excavating marks to create layers and textures that supported the structure. The monochromatic palette felt rich, yet underplayed, and coincided with the drab, early spring season when the photographs were taken.

This series began in the summer of 2015, and the two most recently completed in winter, 2018.

Click on the first image to launch the slide show.

From The Ritz

SOLD_48x36, mixed media on canvas,2018

Beside Roy

SOLD_36x48″, 2016

Ritz Window 1

SOLD_mixed media on paper, 18×24

Ritz Window 2

SOLD_18x24, mixed media on paper

Commute YYZ

36×48″, mixed media on paper, Juror’s Award – Art in the County, 2016

Take A Walk

SOLD_22x36, mixed media on paper

Delta Window 1

mixed media on paper, 18×24, 2015

Delta Window 2

mixed media on paper, 18×24, 2015

In A Nutshell

Need clarity about your brand? Strategy about where to go next? Have an idea that needs a fresh perspective?

Maybe you need flat out professional design work: ads, brochures, business cards, copy or editing, a logo ...or something else in between! Kato is approachable, dependable, works quickly and goes the extra mile to make sure each client is happy ...and her rates are affordable too!

A Happy Client

"Your excellent design skills and persistence for consistency and high standards made for a great work experience. I appreciated your thoroughness and diligence too. Thank you!"

BM, Prince Edward County

Kudos

"Kato is a painter, designer, teacher and guide who knows how to bring together many aesthetic experiences including visual arts, music and gastronomy in the pursuit of meaning, wisdom and joy. The impact of her creative leadership is long lasting. This past year I met a successful young videographer from Toronto whom Kato taught when he was a little boy. He remembers her classes fondly.

Kato arrived in The County 5 years ago by way of Toronto and Stratford. She is a most valued instructor at the Baxter Arts Centre."